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Low-end Android chip king Mediatek prepares a processor with 64-bit support and an LTE modem

Taiwanese chipmaker Mediatek is best known for designing the system on a chip (SoC) and providing reference designs for scores of inexpensive Android devices currently flooding emerging markets. But its latest chip, the MT6795, announced Tuesday, is a high-end effort, meant to compete with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon.

In fact, with its support for 64-bit operating systems and its Cat 4 LTE modem, the MT6795 adds of the features needed to achieve competitive parity with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801, a quad-core chip currently found in most phones on the premium side of the market.

Mediatek’s MT6795 SoC will have eight cores, clocked at 2.2GHz, and will include support for recording “full HD super slow motion video.” The SoC will be able to power a 2K device display, like the 2560 x 1600 panel currently found on the LG G3, which uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip for a variety of reasons, most particularly its built-in LTE modem.

Last week, Samsung announced an Exynos chip with a Cat 4 LTE modem, which was seen as one of the last barriers to Samsung’s adoption of its own chip platform for premium devices.

Mediatek says MT6795-powered devices will be available by the end of 2014, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make it to the United States. Mediatek is a very globally focused company and doesn’t have a strong presence in the U.S ..market. Still, these “top-tier” features, like an LTE modem and 64-bit support, will soon trickle down to Mediatek’s less expensive products, and that will make its core customers — makers of inexpensive smartphones — very happy.